Monuments of Time
by Stargazer8246
Summary: (Set right after Season 7 episode 1) As the team heads for Olkarion to regroup, an energy surge causes the lions to go on the fritz. Pidge and Hunk run several scans, only to discover the surge was caused by something more than unusual. It's not until a girl claiming to be one of the Paladin's daughters arrives, that the team realizes the severity of their situation.
1. Chapter 1- Waiting Impatiently

**Chapter 1- Waiting Impatiently**

 _(See end of chapter for notes)_

* * *

"Lance... Lance... did he fall asleep?" The red paladin's eyes snapped open as Hunk's voice sounded in his ear.

"Wa-huh?" Pidge snorted.

"Yeah, he fell asleep." Lance rolled his eyes, trying not to yawn as he stretched.

"I did not! ... I was just resting my eyes..." There was a loud sigh.

"Lance," Pidge said, her voice snappy. "That's the third time in the last hour that you've dozed off!" Lance scowled.

"All the more reason for us to land on the nearest planet and take a break like I suggested earlier!"

"We'll land on Olkarion in less than a varga, so sit tight!" Coran piped up cheerfully, and Lance slumped in his seat.

"We've been sitting tight for several quintents! My backside's killing me!"

"If you don't stop complaining, **I'LL** kill you." Keith's voice rang into Lance's ear, and the red paladin winced. "We're almost there! We need to regroup and contact the coalition before we can head home. Not only that, we'll need the Olkarions' help if we want to get to Earth before Sendek realizes how vulnerable we are."

"Chances are, he already has." Krolia's firm, clear voice sounded over the intercom, and Lance cocked his head.

"You think so?" Allura, who had been quiet for the majority of the trip, finally spoke.

"Sendek seems to have eyes and ears everywhere. It goes without saying that he'll hear about Voltron's battle with Lotor soon enough. We just have to hope he hasn't quite yet." Suddenly, there was a loud beeping sound, and Lance jumped as several alarms started going off in his lion's cockpit.

"Uh, what's going on?" Hunk's worried voice came through Lance's comlink. "Guys, is anyone else's dashboard beeping and flashing like heck?"

"Something's wrong!" Lance winced at Pidge's statement.

"Yeah, Einstein, that much is obvious!" he snapped. Before he could make any more snide remarks, however, he was thrown forward, his lion spiraling out of control. Just as suddenly as the commotion had started, it stopped. The alarms stopped, and the Red Lion floated motionless in space, its paladin breathing heavily.

"What in the name of King Groggery the Infirm was that?" Coran gasped, his voice hoarse. Lance licked chapped lips, shaking his head.

"No idea... It's like my lion was... _short circuiting_ or something..."

"Same..." Keith agreed. "They all did it."

"Hey, guys," Pidge's voice rang over the coms. "I'm picking up a strange energy signature from nearby... it's..." She gasped, and Lance leaned forward in his seat.

"What? What's wrong?" There was a long pause before Pidge finally responded.

"Whatever caused that surge in our lions left behind a strong energy marker... it's... it's the same as Voltron's." Lance straightened, instinctively clutching at his bayard.

"Wait, does that mean Lotor's back?!" Hunk asked, panic in his voice.

"No." Allura said firmly. "He couldn't have escaped the Quintessence Field in the state we left him in. It must be something else!"

"Pidge," Keith said, his voice resonating authority. "Figure out what's causing that energy signature. We can't head to Olkarion with the possibility that we've got a threat on our tail."

"I'm working on it, but it may take a while. That energy surge messed with my lion's systems quite a bit."

"Do what you have to. There's an uninhabited planet nearby. We'll land there and rest; give the lions a chance to recover." Lance heaved a sigh of relief. His backside really _did_ ache.

The uninhabited planet the paladins landed on proved to be uninhabited for a very good reason. The planet was shrouded in darkness; gas geysers went off every few moments, cloaking the terrain in a dangerous haze. Acid rain came down from the dark grey clouds, eating away at the dark red clay that made up the planet's surface. It went without saying that the atmosphere could not properly sustain any life.

Lance decided that this was not the best place to stretch his legs.

"Pidge, is this planet even safe? That rain does _not_ look refreshing."

"We should be fine. Our armor is reinforced enough that the rain won't damage it unless we stand outside for a prolonged period of time. As for the lions, they should be just fine. We won't be here long enough for the acid to cause them any harm." Lance nodded, shifting the controls to land the Red Lion.

"Hey, Pidge," Hunk piped up. "I'm running a few modules to compare the energy signature we picked up to the one we got when we first came across that other reality. You know, the time with that weird Altean ship? And the weird Shiro-"

"Um, not to be a bother, but I have a question." Romelle's soft voice came through the coms, quiet, and uncertain. "What exactly are we planning on doing when we discover the cause of this strange energy? As someone pointed out earlier, the lions are not at their best. If whatever this is turns out to be a threat, what are we to do about it?" Lance arched an eyebrow, pursing his lips.

"She has a point, ya know..." He watched as Keith stepped out of the black lion, bending backwards in a stretch.

"We need to go one step at a time. We'll start by finding out what the energy _is_ and then go from there." Lance let out a bark of laughter, exiting his own lion, and Keith glared. "What's so funny?" Lance folded his arms, smirking slyly.

"Oh, I just find this hilarious, coming from you: the guy who used to just charge in, impatient to get the job done." Keith put a hand on one hip, glaring at the red paladin.

"The key words in that sentence being _'used to'_. And sometimes, you don't need a plan; you _can_ just charge in. This time, however, anyone with a brain would know that we can't do that." Lance scowled, glaring back at Keith.

"Yeah, which makes me wonder why _you_ knew that." Pidge snorted with laughter, Hunk clapping his hands over his helmet, where his mouth was.

"Oooh! He got you there, Keith!" the green paladin said, pointing meaningfully at the dark haired boy. Rather than retort like everyone expected however, he smiled. It was a half playful smile, and Lance stared, taken aback.

"Nice comeback." Lance blinked, shaking his head hard, before tapping the side of his helmet. His comlink must be malfunctioning.

"Huh?!" But Keith didn't repeat himself. All playfulness gone, he turned to Pidge, who had been watching the exchange with arched eyebrows.

"How's it going? Have you found anything yet?" Pidge snapped to attention, shaking her head.

"No, but I have some modules running. They should be done by now; I'll go take a look." She dashed back to her lion, shaking the rain from her armor like a dog before entering.

"We shouldn't stay out in the rain for too long," Hunk pointed out, looking down at his steaming armor. "It's doing more damage than I expected." Lance and Keith agreed, and the three headed back to their respective lions.

Lance was just assessing how much longer he'd have before he'd need to resume his seated position, when Pidge emitted a loud cry, stammering something nonsensical.

Lance pulled opened a visual channel to the Green Lion, and stared at Pidge, whose mouth was now moving soundlessly, her eyes wide.

"Pidge, what's going on?" The small girl blinked rapidly, as though disbelieving of what was before her.

"The tests... I finished running them, and... is this even possible?!"

"Is what possible?" Hunk said, pulling up a channel of his own. Keith appeared on screen as well, Krolia looking over his shoulder. Allura, Romelle, and Coran followed suit, and everyone waited for Pidge's response.

"The energy is similar to that of a teladove... But, at the same time, it has the quintesinal signature of Voltron, just like that intereality portal we came across a while back! It also has the same gravitational force as the Quantum Abyss..." Keith frowned.

"Been there..."

Lance leaned forward in his seat.

"And what exactly does all this mean?" Pidge grabbed at her laptop, clicking away feverishly.

"Well... all the data suggests that it's hypothetical warped spacetime."

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HEY, EVERYONE!

So, like my other fanfiction, "Weak Link" (which I *cough cough* still haven't finished...) I will unfortunately be unable to update chapters regularly... but yeah. I will try putting the next chapter out soon! Spoilers: this story will include lots of Langst (and angst in general) family and bonding moments between the paladins, and LOTS OF COMPLEX SPACE-TIME STUFF! (just a heads-up) Oh, and with the help of a friend... (you know who you are) I hope to put in some awesome fight scenes!

Until next time! :D


	2. Chapter 2-Solutions for the Simpleminded

**Chapter 2- Solutions for the Simple Minded**

 _(See end of chapter for notes)_

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There was a long pause, and everyone stared at Pidge blankly.

"Um, what the quiznak is hypo-whatever-you-said?" Lance muttered, raising an eyebrow, and Pidge sighed.

"To say it in smaller, simpler terms... time travel." There was a deafening silence, followed by a screech from Lance.

"Woahwoahwoah, hold up! Time travel? Is that even real?!"

"Yeah, and like, is it gonna mess up time here? Also, was the energy burst like, a gateway through time, or what?" Lance and Hunk gawked at Pidge, who adjusted her glasses.

"Well, Hunk, to answer your question: I actually have no idea. And to answer Lance's: All the data implies it is, but I don't understand how..." She paused, pulling up another screen on her laptop, her fingers flying across the keyboard. She paused, before deliberately pushing a single button. A little alarm went off on her laptop, and she growled, resuming her fitful typing. "I still haven't been able to pinpoint the location the surge originated from! If I found it, I could scan the area for further information."

Hunk pulled up a screen, doing some typing of his own. "I'll try narrowing down our search a bit... even though I have no idea what we're looking for."

Pidge made a face. "This may take a while guys."

Lance was about to complain, but Krolia cut him off. "You said that the surge emitted the same gravitational pull as in the Quantum Abyss, correct?"

Pidge nodded. "That's right. Why?" But Krolia didn't respond. She simply stood in a very Keith-like manner: arms folded, staring at the ground, with her eyes closed and a slight frown on her face.

Keith turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. "Krolia..."

The Galran looked up again, brows furrowed. "The Quantum Abyss's gravitational pull is caused by all the dark stars that have formed so closely together. If this event was caused by the same thing, than we would be able to tell from here. The only other thing that would emit that kind of energy and gravitational pull is a black hole."

Pidge nodded. "You're right. Except I've scanned for that, and there is no black hole anywhere near this system. At least, not that my radar can pick up. But my lion _is_ low on energy. All of them are. We managed to recharge the lions back on that other planet thanks to the Phonatonium"

"And the Yellmores," Coran declared, holding up a finger. "Don't forget about them."

Hunk and Romelle groaned, the Altean folding her arms grumpily. "How could we?" she muttered.

Pidge cleared her throat, adjusting her glasses again. " _Anyway,_ the Phonatonium's effect will only last us so much longer. We need to get to Olkarion soon so that we can find a way to recharge the lions properly. If anyone has something that will work, it's them."

"Pidge is right." Keith's eyebrows jumped, and he spun around in his seat to see the white haired figure of Shiro come limping towards him. Keith's shocked expression turned into a glare, but when he spoke, his voice was lined with worry.

"Shiro! You were supposed to be resting! You still haven't fully recovered yet."

Shiro shook his head, rubbing his right shoulder gingerly. "I'll be fine, Keith, I just need to move around a bit. I've slept enough-"There was an outburst of noise as all the paladins, along with Coran and Krolia, shouted in protest, Lance's voice drowning out almost everyone's, including Pidge's, it was so high pitched. Shiro's face contorted in pain at the sound, and he covered one ear with his good hand. The noise died down instantly, and Keith strode over to him, fists clenched. Shiro looked at him wearily, and the raven haired youth glared back.

"Bed. Now."

Shiro sighed, shutting his eyes. "Look, Keith, I don't need rest, I need—"

"You need to listen. You're pushing yourself too hard again. We need you at the top of your game, Shiro, and if you don't recover, you'll be of no use to anyone." Keith's glare softened into a saddened, sympathetic look as Shiro's eyes widened and his gaze faltered, his grey blue eyes downcast. Keith put a hand on his shoulder, continuing to speak. "You'll be of no use to anyone, and I know how much you hate that. So go on and get some rest. Don't keep pushing yourself like this, Shiro, please."

The former black paladin looked up, a small smile on his lips. "Alright. I'll give it a shot. But the second we reach Olkarion, you better wake me up." Keith smiled and Lance did a sharp salute, smirking slightly.

"Yes, sir!"

Krolia helped Shiro out of Black's cockpit, and Keith resumed his seat, turning back to face the controls. "Alright everyone, we're heading to Olkarion. Pidge, Hunk, keep researching that anomaly on the way. We can look into it in depth once we've got the lions recharging."

"Got it."

Keith had just started taking off when Lance's voice rang across the coms. "Woahwoahwoah, hold the phone! Did Keith just use a scientific word? I bet you don't even know what 'anomaly' means!"

He looked smugly at the black paladin, who glared back. "Oh, and you do?"

Lance's look faltered, and his mouth moved soundlessly. Pidge snickered, and Hunk bit his lips to prevent a laugh from escaping him. Lance growled, his ears turning red.

"He got you there, Lance."

"Shut up, Pidge!"

Keith smirked. "Well, Lance? _Do_ you know what anomaly means?"

"Zip it, Mullet! Science mumbo jumbo is Pidge's department!" He sniffed. "At least I don't go using words I don't know!"

Keith raised an eyebrow, starting to become annoyed. "Who said I don't know what it means? It means—"

"Don't tell him, Keith!" Pidge cut him off, grinning widely. "Just let him wonder." Keith opened his mouth to protest, and then thought of how annoyed Pidge's idea would make the red paladin.

He smirked. "You know what? Fine."

And with that, he took off, leaving Lance gaping soundlessly with the face of an enraged Yellmore.

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 _There! Chapter 2 is up! Now to see if I can upload Chapter 3 before the day is over... I mean, it's written... Fanfiction is just giving me a hard time right now with my documents. -_- Thanks for reading, everyone! And PLEASE, if you have the time, reviews are REALLY appreciated! :D_


	3. Chapter 3- Seeing Double

**Chapter 3- Seeing Double**

 _(See end of chapter for notes)_

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Krolia stared out the cockpit's window, leaning against the wall. It had been years since she'd seen this part of space; since before she had landed on Earth, in fact. She remembered describing the different planets, one of which was Olkarion, to Keith's father. His eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline, he had raised them so high, and his jaw was constantly falling open in shock.  
A smile flickered across her lips at the memory and was gone. She had loved every single moment she'd spent with him. The long walks at sunset, the view from atop that ledge not far from the house... all of it. But now... she closed her eyes. While in the Quantum Abyss, she had seen one of Keith's childhood memories: him as a young boy, standing in a cemetery before a gravestone, his fists and jaw clenched, tears streaming down his cheeks. He had been asleep when the flashback occurred, but even after that, even after two years of traveling, he hadn't spoken a word to her about her lover's death. And she never brought it up; if Keith, after all that time, still wouldn't talk about it freely, than she wouldn't force him.  
She sighed, rubbing her neck. He was obviously still having an incredibly hard time adjusting to the fact that his mother was back in his life... but he WAS adjusting. While waiting for Shiro to wake up from the Cryopod, she had stood by his side, one hand his shoulder, trying to show him: I'm here. Everything will be fine. And he had looked at her with... was it gratitude? She still couldn't tell with him sometimes, but he hadn't shrugged her off or shunned her. It was progress. Slow, but it was still progress. What had she expected? To be able to jump into his life again and hope that he would be completely okay with it? Never in any universe would that happen, especially with HER son. She imagined how she would react if she were in his shoes, and couldn't think of any other outcome other than how he had reacted. Krolia looked over at the young man at the controls of the black look. He had been so small - a mere baby when she had left him on Earth... and now... she sighed, folding her arms. The past was the past, and there was nothing she could do to change it.  
She shook herself and left the cockpit, careful not to disturb Shiro, who had finally fallen into a fitful slumber. She tallied up the rations, logging everything into the small computer Pidge had installed a few weeks back. They were running low on supplies; they could cut down on everything until they restocked, but... She headed back to the cockpit, and Kieth turned to look over at her before facing the controls again.

"We'll be at Olkarion soon. We're going to stop at a nearby planet first: Pidge and Hunk say the energy signature came from that sector, and they want to take a look. It'll also give the lions a chance to recharge a bit."  
Krolia nodded, walking over to stand behind him. "Alright... By the way Kieth, I just took inventory... We're running low on supplies."

"It's fine. Hunk loaded his lion with food supplies before we left the Castle."  
Kieth smirked, shaking his head slightly. "Leave it to Hunk to remember the food."  
Krolia smiled, placing a hand on the back of Keith's seat. "You really know your team, don't you?" Keith shrugged slightly, watching as Lance (who was apparently bored again) started doing complex twirls and loops around the Yellow lion. He managed to pull off a few cool moves, but after the fifth barrel role, he collided with Hunk. There was a short pause before either lion moved, and when they did, Yellow was chasing Red, Lance at an advantage as Yellow was the slowest lion, and Red the fastest.  
Keith shook his head in exasperation, turning on the comlinks. Guys, cut it out! We need to conserve the lions' energy." He brought up another screen, showing a planet they were approaching. "We're coming up on the sector Pidge and Hunk mentioned. Get ready to land."  
The five lions shot forward, and Krolia stared, taking a moment to admire the planet. From space, it looked almost like Earth: blue, green, and white, with swirling clouds and an orbiting moon. She wasn't the only one to notice this however; several of the paladins commented on the similarities between this world and their home planet, especially Lance. Pidge had everyone turn their comms off to prevent any interference with her scans, and Keith grabbed his helmet from the console beside him.

"I'm gonna see if Coran or Romelle will stay with Shiro; I don't want him out of this lion until we're on Olkarion." Krolia looked down as she felt something against her leg, and smiled. Kosmo (as Keith's wolf had been named by the other paladins) was rubbing against her affectionately. She scratched him between the ears, looking back up at Keith.

"I could stay with him, if you want."  
Kieth blinked. "Well, I... I figured you'd want to come."  
Krolia stared for a moment. Did he actually think that, or... "Do you WANT me to come?"  
Keith's eyebrows jumped, and he looked at her, taken aback. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I?"  
Krolia shrugged slightly, scratching the wolf's neck. "Well, you've been stuck with me for over two years now. I guess I thought you'd be tired of it by now; you know, you'd want some space."  
Keith turned back to the controls, landing the black lion in a large clearing, where the other paladins were doing the same. "You've been missing from my life for... Well, most of it."  
Krolia stiffened, looking over at Keith, who had stood to face her. He opened his mouth to speak again, but couldn't seem to find the words, and he dropped his gaze. After a moment he continued speaking. "I know we spent a lot of time together in the Quantum Abyss, but don't ever think I don't want you around."  
Krolia smiled, rising, and putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Alright, I promise not to think that."  
Keith smiled, looking rather relieved. "Now, I'm going to go see if anyone can stay with Shiro." He headed for the cockpit door, and stopped short as a small squeaking sound issued from his right. He glanced over to see the mice, who were heading for the door as well. Keith blinked. "How did ..."  
The little rodents exited the cockpit, scampering over to where Shiro slept each of them taking a position around him, their stances protective. The smallest one looked at the black paladin reassuringly, and Keith could have sworn it gave him a thumbs up. He raised an eyebrow, grinning, Krolia beside him, looking nonplussed. "Well, looks like that's taken care of. Let's go join the others."

"Wow, this place is almost like a rain forest back on Earth." Pidge examined a large leaf on a nearby tree, taking readings and making notes on her data pad, while Allura admired a nearby flower bush. Hunk and Coran were staring at a rather large mushroom growing beside a pile of mossy boulders, struggling to identify the species of fungi and decide whether it was safe to place it in this evening's dinner.

Krolia and Keith kept glancing around, watching for any sign of danger, while Lance... Well, Lance and Romelle were busy making sure they didn't run into anymore 'magical skunks.'  
Keith kept a hand hovering at his side, ready to summon his bayard if need be. "Pidge, try running those scans again. See if you can pinpoint the exact location of that energy signature."  
Pidge messed with something on her data pad, frowning slightly. "I can't pinpoint the exact location, especially with my lion's power depleted. But I traced the source to just above this planet's atmosphere. However, since nothing was there, I figured we should take a look here, and see if we could locate anything with a similar energy signature."  
She added this last bit when Keith have her a funny look, and he nodded in acknowledgement. The green paladin pulled up another screen on her data pad, turning to face multiple directions, her scanner beeping at various speeds as she did so. When she turned northwest, it went off furiously, and Pidge grinned with satisfaction. "This way."  
The team followed after her, all the paladins but Pidge summoning their bayards, eyes peeled for any signs of danger. After walking for a few minutes, Pidge held up a hand and they halted; Romelle, who hadn't been paying attention, bumped into Hunk and bounced off, landing on her rear. Keith went over to stand beside Pidge, who had crouched behind a set of bushes, peering into a small clearing ahead of them. The clearing was not natural, but rather, had been formed by a landing ship. Or, more precisely, had been formed by a crashing ship. Pidge stared at the vessel that had plowed down a large section of trees, her eyes wide. The ship was unlike any she had seen. Its general structure reminded her of an Earth fighter-style vessel, but the technology was undeniably Altean. Lance leaned forward, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

"Waoh! What is that thing?!"

Pidge slapped him on the back of the head.

"Quiet!" Keith snapped. "We have no idea who was piloting that thing or if they're still here. Keep your eyes peeled." He looked around him and cautiously stepped into the clearing, darting and ducking behind fallen trees as he went, never staying in the open too long. Kosmo stayed directly beside him. Krolia followed close behind, than Pidge. Lance took the long way around, on higher ground, his blaster at the ready, prepared to take down any enemies if they appeared. Hunk stayed at the tree line with Coran and Romelle, ready to provide cover fire if need be, while Allura stuck by Pidge's side, the two of them completely fascinated by the ship. It didn't appear to have been too badly damaged in the crash, but one of the engines was smoking. Pidge did some more scans, while Keith glanced around for any sign of life before looking over at Lance.

"Lance, you see anything suspicious from your position?"  
The red paladin gave him a thumbs up. "You guys are all clear." Just as he finished speaking, there was a shout from Pidge, who was sent flying backwards into Krolia. The Galran quickly caught her balance and grabbed hold of the bespectacled girl, drawing her blaster with unnatural speed and pointing it to where Pidge had been standing a moment before. Right in her sights was Kosmo. But it wasn't Kosmo. It couldn't be, because Kosmo was still standing next to Keith. The mysterious wolf stared at Krolia, who hadn't budged.

"Uh, Keith, you didn't say anything about your wolf being able to create duplicates of itself," Lance snapped, coming down to join the others.  
Keith, who was both curious and confused, shook his head. "He can't. This is different animal."  
The creature turned its head at the sound of Keith's voice, its ears twitching. It sat down, its tongue hanging out of its mouth in a doglike fashion, gazing at Keith. At least, the black paladin thought it was looking at him. But after another moment of observation, he realized that it wasn't looking directly at him, but rather, behind him. He whirled around, bayard out... And froze as he came face to face with a masked figure. Keith lashed out with his sword, and the figure back-flipped out of the way; when he came to a halt though, he made no move to counter Keith's attack. The black paladin ground his teeth as the new wolf appeared at the stranger's side, Kosmo growling at it suspiciously.

The masked figure flicked his wrist, and a moment later, a large dome-like force field appeared around them, enclosing everyone, including Hunk, Coran, and Romelle, in it. Keith let out a small growl that sounded strangely like Kosmo's, and tightened his grip on his bayard. With an enraged shout, he charged at the stranger, and the two collided, grunting and tumbling, and, on occasion, sending one another flying.

Pidge struck her first against the force field, testing it's durability. It was strong, but in no way harmful to the human nervous system. However, unless she found it's source, there was no disabling it. She was about to call for Hunk when Keith landed next to get, the stranger pinning him to the ground. He had a hand on Keith's throat, the other holding Keith's deactivated bayard. Pidge drew her own weapon, ready to strike, but she stopped as a small, familiar chuckle emitted from the stranger.

"Well well, not as tough as I remember you being, are you, Mullet?"

* * *

 _^-^ Yay! Chapter 3 is up! Now I have to start working on Chapter 4. I wonder if I can get it done in less than a month... Here's the real question: Who just beat Keith?! XD_


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